Two days ago, a shroud anchor pin failed, causing the mast to fall. There was no one under it, we were close to home, and a friend motored by about 15 minutes after it happened. It could have easily turned out where one or both of us had been injured, we were out in the middle of the Potomac, and no one was there to rescue us. I'd rather not test my luck again.

She's an old boat (30 years or so) but with no soft spots. I doubt that any of the standing rigging has ever been replaced - running rigging, tramp, sails, rudders, etc. have been replaced as needed.

What would you replace? Shrouds, fore stay, bridle, anchor pins - but what else?

Would you buy from Hobie directly, Murry's, ???

Is there a package that would include all the standing rigging or do I need to go through the catalog and get numbers for every item, washers and all?

I did a search but didn't see where these questions were answered.Thanks for any help.Dick

You could do Hobie direct or a place like Murray's. I got my past set from Murray's. I would call and talk to them, they should be able to identify the parts you need. Don't forget the diamond wires while you are at it.

You should inspect standing rigging regularly... IE check for rust and wire breakage. Every cable I've seen fail had signs of rust around it in advance. Murray's is a great local store for us. You may have a local shop worth going to. Inspect the ends of all cables for signs that the fittings are cracked or rusted. Running a hand gingerly along the length of a cable will usually find problems, (a frayed cable will bury itself quickly into your finger if you're not careful), or fat spots in insulation will feel weird.

when I bought back my boat after a 13 year hiatus the first thing I did was purcase an entire set of standing rigging from Salty Dog Marine. It is top notch stuff. I followed that up with new anchor pins from Hobie Cat.

In addition to the anchor pins and wires, also inspect the twist toggles for elongation of the clevis pin holes and inspect the roller furler housing (the stainless steel part where the bridles connect) for cracks.

In addition to the anchor pins and wires, also inspect the twist toggles for elongation of the clevis pin holes and inspect the roller furler housing (the stainless steel part where the bridles connect) for cracks.

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That's a good one... I had a crack in the main SS part under my telocat mount, I couldn't see it until I took the thing apart...

What I'm concluding follows:Replace both shroud anchor pins (dah)Inspect with a magnifying glass all the standing rigging looking for rust and cracks.Depending on the condition of the rigging and the condition of my bank balance, replace damaged parts or just replace all of it for piece of mind.

With the mast off the boat, it will be easy to do a thorough inspection. After shroud anchor pins, what else is likely to break? Do bridles give way more often than shrouds? If the diamond wires fail, does the mast just fold up?

I'd be very interested to hear about any other de-mastings and their causes.

My understanding is that diamond wire failure is rare, and gradual. My bridal wires started to fail by fraying a couple of strands. I've only seen two complete failures in the rigging and the failure points looks very bad...

I am a bit anal about my major components because I sail offshore with minimal support in big wind and big waves. I've had a few boats now and tend to replace anything that give me any reason for pause, then inspect my new rigging regularly. The only failure that I've seen with minimal warning has been the shroud pin. Luckily mine didn't actually fail, but it was looking a bit distorted and removal revealed a stress crack.It has been suggested to me that it's a good idea to dismantle and inspect your boat at least once a year. I'll scour the forums for failure photos and take any opportunity I get to check out boats that have failed, and what seemed to be the failure point. These boats can handle a lot of abuse, and in my experience if your rig isn't fraying or showing signs of corrosion you're probably good for awhile. However if the rigging your using hasn't been in service for a couple of decades... it may be shiny and clean looking, but will reveal fraying and corrosion once you put it through some stress. I'd work towards replacing your rigging, and then maintaining it.

If it's old rigging and looks great, you can sail it, but be sure to check it each time you head out.

Your boat will probably show signs of failure before it completely fails. (except shroud pins and furler maybe) Get used to checking it before heading out and when you get back in.

You don't have to run out and buy brand new parts right away(unless you can already see cracks, fraying, or corrosion) just keep an eye on it, and be prepared.

I have never had a diamond wire fail but I have had the bolt that the diamond wires attach to at the bottom of the mast (also goes through the mast rotation control arm) fail on two separate occasions (and seen it happen to someone else as well). The net result is the same, i.e. no more tension on the diamond wires. My mast suffered no ill effects either time, possibly because I released most of the mainsheet tension and limped back to shore. I now sail with a spare bolt onboard with me. It would be difficult to replace in any kind of chop, but easily swapped out by sailing to the nearest shore.

Does the white coating on the shrouds last longer than the black (due to sunlight/heat)?

I don't know the answer to that, but I like white because it is easier to see.

And, please, if you can afford it, replace anchor pins and shrouds. Bridles, not so much since the stress is split between the two, but check them anyway. In fact, just check everything, but get new shrouds and anchor pins. And, what everyone else wrote.

And one last bit of unsolicited advice - tighten all the bolts connecting the hulls to the crossbars.